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Indian T20 League 2009

IPL 2009

The whole world was going through a tough recession during 2008 and 2009, but the auctions for IPL 2009 brought true Lalit Modi's grand quote of his tournament being 'recession proof'. The tournament itself, almost didn't happen, with the general elections in India threatening to derail it, but Modi worked tirelessly and quickly to shift base, lock stock and barrel to South Africa. Thus in its second year itself, the IPL found a new home.

Although South African crowds didn't warm to what was still a league dominated by Indian names in the same manner that the Indian crowds in the stadium had, it was still a big commercial success with the television channels. The teams that took part were more or less the same, except with the addition of the new players who had been auctioned and one or two players who had been traded.

However, the results couldn't have been more starkly different. The teams that had finished the bottom two in the first year, ended up competing in the final, and appropriately enough the Deccan won the final after having finished last in 2008. The pre-tournament favourites had been the Delhi and the Chennai, and their performances both validated the concept of 'favourites' as well as the concept of 'anything can happen in Twenty20 cricket'. Both ended up topping the league phase - but at the semi-final stage, they lost to the Deccan and the Bangalore respectively.

There were new heroes created during this edition, with Dirk Nannes of Delhi being amongst the prominent ones. He was picked up by Delhi and he kept the legendary Glenn McGrath out of the side - something he said he'd be proud to tell his grand-children some day!

Man of the Series

Adam Gilchrist

For the second year in a row, an ex-Australian all-time great lifted the IPL trophy. It was Shane Warne last year, and Adam Gilchrist this year. Just like Warne, Gilchrist led from the front and was the second highest run scorer during the IPL (being trumped only by long-time opening partner and another retired Aussie great - Matthew Hayden). Gilchrist was also second on the strike-rates chart, which in the Twenty20 format is just as important. He ended with 495 runs at a strike rate of 152.3. He played what was possibly the innings of the tournament during the semi-final, smashing 85 off 35 balls to shut favourites Delhi out.

Heroes

Anil Kumble

Even more than Gilchrist, Anil Kumble was the captain of the IPL. And without doubt, he was the best bowler in the tournament. Kevin Pietersen had been appointed captain of Bangalore, but after he left mid-way for England duty, the titanic Kumble took up the reins, and showed that the owners would have done well to trust him with the job from the start. He led a remarkable turn-around for Bangalore, carrying them all the way to the final. In the final too, he bowled the first over, and took out the most dangerous Deccan batsman - his opposite number Gilchrist - in the first over. He ended with 21 wickets at an average of 16.5 and an astounding economy rate of 5.86.

Matthew Hayden

The way Matthew Hayden batted in IPL 2009 made many long for a come-back to the international stage for the imposing left-hander. The only ones not joining in the chorus were the still active international bowlers! Hayden was colossal in every sense of the word, smashing 572 runs at a strike rate of 144.8 to emerge as the comfortably highest scorer in the tournament. He didn't have any centuries but smashed 5 fifties in 12 innings and gave the Chennai awesome fire-power at the top of the order. His blistering starts were the catalyst for Chennai's middle order to capitalize on, and even though his side didn't make the final, he still ended up as the top scorer.